These are a few homes that are located near the Near Northwest Neighborhood. Photo by Connor De Mill

By Connor De Mill and Manny De Jesus

It’s never easy to accept change.

In the last few decades, some of the nation’s largest cities have experienced change at unprecedented levels at unprecedented rates, and it’s getting more and more difficult to get a grasp of these changes before these transformations become permanent. In The Atlantic’s review of Peter Moskowitz’s new book “How to Kill a City: Gentrification, Inequality, and the Fight for a Neighborhood,” Gillian White makes references to how Detroit, San Francisco, New York and New Orleans have heavily gentrified at the expense of several marginalized communities, and while the review focuses on how larger cities have battled with these changes, we think it’s time we start turning our focus towards America’s smaller urban hubs.

Conrad Damian, who has lived in South Bend’s southeast side for 48 years and has worked alongside the Southeast Organized Area Residents (SOAR) neighborhood development organization, believes that the city is experiencing more change than it realizes.

The Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtzee river in China is the world’s largest power station in terms of installed capacity. The dam was envisioned in 1919, however, the project did not begin until December of 1994. Construction was a massive endeavor, costing 180 billion yuan ($22.5 billion USD) and displacing 1.24 million residents from 13 cities. Despite its high initial cost, the dam recovered the full 180 billion yuan through 1,000 terawatt hours of electricity production in December of 2013. Furthermore, the Chinese government asserts that the relocation of these residents is outweighed by the increased flood protection provided by the dam to those further downriver.

The dam received harsh criticism for its environmental impact. The region is home to a large number of endangered plant and animal species that were guaranteed to be impacted by the dam’s construction. Chinese government scholars claim that the construction of the Three Gorges Dam directly caused the extinction of the Bajie, or Chinese River Dolphin.

In this timelapse created using Google Earth you can witness how the construction of the dam has profoundly changed the surrounding area.

Quarterback Andrew Luck has been with the Indianapolis Colts for five seasons, bringing his team to the playoffs three times. Luck recently signed a six year contract with the Colts, securing him for the team through 2021. This chart displays his rushing and passing yards during his time with the team. View the live chart created with Datawrapper here.

Research conducted by Gallup in 2016 revealed the religiosity of individual states within the U.S. As one might expect, a higher number of individuals classified as religious can be found in southern states, while a lower number are found in much of the northeast. Gallup’s data classifies individuals as non-religious, religious, or very religious. More information can be found in the infographic below.

Visiting the historic city of South Bend? Here is a map of 10 great places to visit during your stay. South Bend has a variety of exciting activities for all ages and demographics regardless of the season.